Ramming machine and derrick for the same



Nov. 16, 1954 A. N. WAMPACH RAMMING MACHINE AND DERRICK FOR THE SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. 5, 1950 INVENTOR. A AMPac/v' ALOYSE h,

Nov. 16, 1954 A. N. WAMPACH 2,594,294

RAMMING MACHINE AND DERRICK FOR THE SAME Original Filed Dec. 5, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Arm 5E llcoLns LJAmPAcH BY United States Patent RAF/ MING MACHINE AND DERRICK FGR THE SAME Aloyse Nicolas Wampach, Luxembourg, Luxembourg (lriginal appiicatien December 5, 1950, Serial No. 199,191. Divided and this application December 20, 1951, Serial No. 262,621

Ciaims priority, appiicaticn Luxembourg December 5, 1949 1 Clairm (Cl. 6173,)

The patent application for the present invention relates especially to the derricks for the ramming machines as described and claimed in my copending patent application Serial No. 199,191, filed the th of December, 1950, and is a division of the said application.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a derrick for ramming machines with simple and effective means for starting the operating piston of the rammer in mounting a winch or hoisting-machine upon the platform of the derrick by means of which the said piston is raised through the medium of a cable. Further, by means of the said derrick the ramming machine is also positioned upon the piles, pileplanks or other driving and ramming operations.

It is a known fact that pile rammers and the like have frequently to be moved from one work site to another. For this reason it is highly important that their mounting and dismantling should be effected in a convenient manner and in as short a time as possible, and also with only a few operators.

With explosion rammers used heretofore the operation of erecting and moving the same consisted in assembling the movable frame forming the base of the structure, then securing the winch thereto and thereafter, after the various sections of the derrick (or sliding beam) have been assembled on the ground in front of the movable frame, the derrick itself was erected, the bracket of the derrick being located on the frame on the side opposite the winch and the lower part of the derrick being adapted to move about its axis. In the middle of the movable frame a trestle was installed, provided with a pulley over which the winch cable was passed, and by means of the winch the derrick was then erected. Two guys, secured to the head of the derrick, were held taut by two operators who took their stand laterally to avoid a possible falling of the derrick. Before mounting the derrick the base frame had to be provided with heavy weights, serving as countcrpoise for the derrick. After the derrick was in position the body of the rammer was hoisted vertically along the sliding guideways by means of the winch and secured to the derrick. All the above mentioned operations had to be performed on the same site on which the piles would have subsequently to be driven and it was always necessary to make allowance for loose, shifting and water-saturated ground.

To avoid the above mentioned drawbacks, in the arrangement of the present invention the sliding derrick is mounted horizontally above the winch or hoistingmachine and is laid on trestles which are provided with rollers at their upper ends. The trestles have such height that assembly of the parts can be conveniently performed. This advantage is unique as it allows the use of good surfaces as foundations fer the erection.

The invention further includes those novel details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, which will be fully described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a derrick constructed in accordance with the subject matter of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the channel-irons of the derrick;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the rammer cylinder raised upon the derrick ready for operation;

Fig. 4 is a modification of the arrangement of the hoisting cables.

In the form of the invention shown the trestle 3 is made from two channel-irons which have their flanges directed inwardly. The sliding derrick or beam 1 is provided at its lower end with circular projections 5 adapted to slide as round pins between the flanges of the channelirons of the trestle 3, as shown in Fig. 2.

The assembly of the derrick is effected in the following manner: After the movable frame or carriage 23 and the winch 2 are assembled, the first section of the derrick 1 is brought up, preferably on the movable support 36 having roller 4b, as illustrated in Fig. 1, in the direction of the arrow A and laid with its lower end on the roller 4 of the trestle 3a which is rotatably secured to the movable frame 23. This trestle 3a may be tilted about the point 7 so that it is possible to adjust the loading height of the same according to that of the support 3b. The angle of inclination of the trestle 3a can be adjusted by inserting a pin in the various apertures formed in the retaining plate 6. Thereafter: the first section of the derrick is advanced so that the circular members 5 may be inserted in between the flanges of the channel-trestle 3 and secured by means of the pin 8 in theposition shown in Fig. 1. The explosion rammer 9 is then moved, by means of its wheels 9b, upon the first derrick section above the winch 2 and thisoperation is facilitated by the use of a cable, passing over the roller lllof the trestle 3, and fixed to the winch which pulls then the rammer body into position. (This arrangement; of cable is not shown in Fig. l.)

The tiltable trestle 3a is then drawn up high enough so that the second section of the derrick can be coupled with the first and thereafter the same procedure is followed for the third section of the same. It will be seen from Fig. l of the drawings that the beam of the derrick fCOIlSlSlS of three parts. After the work of assembling of the derrick 1 has been completed, the stays 11, which are to support the derrick at the rear and the sides of the frame, are pivoted in the direction indicated in Fig. 1 and fastened to the same. After the tiltable trestle 3a is in a vertical position and the pin 8 of the trestle 3 is withdrawn the weight of the rammer body 9 will counterbalance the derrick, the circular projections 5 sliding between the inverted flanges of the same to a position in front of the bore 12 thus allowing the pin 8 to be inserted into the said bore, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Thereafter the cable 212 of the winch 2 is attached to the head of the derrick and the latter is easily brought to its upright position by means of the winch while two men hold the two stays 11 and prevent the derrick from overturning. To contribute to the necessary stability of the structure both stays are secured to the plate 13 of the frame.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that this new derrick may be erected rapidly with few workmen and on firm ground and that dismantling of the same is effected in the reverse order.

It is important that the sliding beam 1 of the derrick as described be as short as possible. This not only facilitates the erection but also makes the beam stronger to resist heavy shocks caused by the ram 9a of the ramming machine 9, such shocks representing in some cases a weight of one or more tons usually dropping from a height of two meters. For this purpose the upper guiding member 14 (Figs. 3 and 4) is secured approximately at the middle of the body of the cylinder 9. The upper part of this cylinder projects by an appreciable length above the cable roller 15, when the rammer occupies its uppermost position in order to suit the maximum length of the piles to be rammed.

Explosion rammers, operating on the diesel system, are usually started by raising the ram-piston, which moves inside the cylinder, by means of the winch and is then released. These known starting means are not used in the present construction, but the starting of the pistonram is obtained through a. blast of gunpowder or similar mixture which is introduced under the piston into the explosion chamber. This starting device using a blast has the advantage of obviating the need of any lifting device as used heretofore for lifting the piston. Further, the explosion gases from such blast preheat the walls of the cylindrical rammer body, which is a great advantage in starting the ram in cold weather.

Another substantial advantage of this new construction of derrick for ramming machines is that only two cables 16 and 17 are needed to perform any hoisting work that may be required, whereas before, when it Was necessary to raise the ram-piston by one of the said cables, this cable had to be used for two hoisting operations in that the cable had to be detached from one part and attached to the other part to be raised. Owing to the heavy loads to be suspended this work had to be eflected with great precaution and required much time in order to avoid accidents.

In another modification, the roller 15, shown in Fig. 3, is not rotatably secured upon the head of the beam 1, but may be placed at a height which corresponds best to the length of the pile to be driven, this arrangement facilitating to a great extent the planting of the piles under the piston of the ramming machine. In Fig. 4 this arrangement is illustrated and it will be seen that the hoisting cable 16 is fastened to the lower guiding member 20 of the cylinder 9 and that the roller 15a is mounted just above it. The beam 1 projects beyond the roller 15a to such length as is necessary for guiding the upper securing member 14 along the beam to the highest position of the cylinder 9. The supporting pole 11b is suitably connected between the rollers 15a and 18 to an integral lug 2212, this ensuring a stable construction for the derrick ang providing equal traction couples for both cables 16 an 7.

Having now particularly described my invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

A slidable ram-type pile drive device of the type described comprising, in combination, a carriage; wheels supporting said carriage movably in a predetermined direction; a tiltable and a stationary upwardly projecting support, said supports arranged on said carriage spaced from each other in said predetermined direction; means for securing said tiltable support to said carriage tiltably about a horizontal axis being normal to said predetermined direction; means for holding said tiltable support in any one of a plurality of selected tilted positions; a turnable supporting member mounted on top of said tiltable support; means for firmly securing said stationary support to said carriage; vertically extending slide means mounted on said stationary support; a holding beam; projections on one end of said holding beam projecting into and engaging said slide means on said stationary support so as to be guided by the same in vertical direction, said beam being also supported by said turnable supporting member mounted on top of said tiltable support; and means for lowering and raising the other end of said beam while the said one end of the beam is guided by said projections sliding in said slide means and the beam itself is supported by said turnable supporting member mounted on top of said turnable support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,395,895 Bellony Nov. 1, 1921 1,728,665 Crist Sept. 17, 1929 2,423,301 Fairchild July 1, 1947 

